How Damson Madder’s Emma Hill Built a £31 Million Business in 5 Years

It is difficult to reconcile being a more responsible label with reaching Damson Madder’s current level of scale, but Hill appointed a head of sustainability to help her meet the brand’s responsibility goals.

Damson Madder hired a head of sustainability last year, to help it navigate the next phase. They are in “constant contact” with factories, and will complete the brand’s first sustainability impact report this April, which will explain more about the brand’s production practices. “It will help us to evaluate [sustainability] year-on-year and improve year-on-year, establishing a standard,” Hill says.

Sights on the US

While the brand has been a viral hit over the last two years, Hill isn’t worried about consumers moving on, because “Damson”, as she calls it, is built on a strong community of brand fans and influencers. Community pop-ups are a key driver of the business. The brand has staged several activations over the last six years, starting in London in February 2024, and held its first New York pop-up in 2024, as an introduction to the market. While Hill “expected it to be dead”, there were constant queues and “hundreds of people”.

Celebrity placements have also boosted sales, particularly in the US, which is the brand’s fastest-growing market and an area of focus for 2026. When Olivia Rodrigo wore the Damson Madder Bora dress eight months ago, the entire 400-unit run sold out in a day. Rodrigo hadn’t even tagged the brand.

The US represents 25% of Damson Madder’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) business, but 60% of wholesale. And following the first New York pop-up, sales increased over 600% on the brand’s website, Hill says. The momentum has continued: last September, the brand held a presentation inNew York with a local grassroots chess community, Club Chess, featuring chess players wearing the brand and competing. The brand will hold its first West Coast activation in April, with an LA pop-up, focused on high summer, heavy on swim and sunglasses, Hill says.

Of course, scaling in the US means greater exposure to Trump’s trade tariffs. Damson Madder focused on growing wholesale instead of DTC, with the help of a new head of wholesale who joined from JW Anderson. The brand also continued with paid ads, still seeing return on investment, despite taking tariffs into account. The biggest challenge is maintaining brand DNA as the label expands internationally. “We want to go global without compromising on our vision or values,” says Hill. “I see brands just diluting to suit a market. That’s not what we want to do.”